Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time

 Lectionary: 151

And now, O priests, this commandment is for you:
If you do not listen,
if you do not lay it to heart,
to give glory to my name, says the LORD of hosts,
I will send a curse upon you
and of your blessing I will make a curse.

When I arrived in mid-summer as the new pastor in a small parish, I wanted to learn as much as I could about the history of this church. So, when the summer turned to fall, I invited all the parishioners to join me for coffee and donuts between two Sunday masses. I asked them to tell me stories about their church. I was not quite prepared for what happened.

There was a lot of anger about the pastor who had just left, and the assistant who remained there with me. I heard a few pleasant memories. But I heard many more stories of upheaval and disappointment, along with accusations of lying and theft. 

But I also heard -- and will never forget -- one man -- his name was Bernard. He spoke to his friends and fellow Catholics. He reminded them all that, "Father Ken is with us for a while. He seems like a good man. But he will leave and this will still be our church. We have to come together. We have to practice our faith, regardless of the pastor. Whether he is a good man or bad, pleasant or unpleasant, this is our church and we will stay here." 

This Sunday's readings concern the leadership of the Church, and the fidelity of the entire Church. In the first reading, the Prophet Malachi sternly warns the Levite priests, 

"If you do not... give glory to my name, says the LORD of hosts, I will send a curse upon you; and of your blessing I will make a curse." 

The tribe of Levi provided priests for the other eleven tribes of Israel. They were supposed to be poor, landless, and completely dependent upon the other tribes. They offered Israel's sacrifices to the Lord and were supported by others for their pious services. 

But in the course of time, some Levite families became quite wealthy, powerful, and secure. They controlled the temple in Jerusalem, and could profit from the sacrifices that were made there. Sometimes their extravagant lifestyle became flagrant and offensive even as their rituals became half-hearted and shoddy. They had become, as Malachi said, "contemptible and base before all the people."

Today's gospel also speaks of leadership, specifically of the "scribes and the Pharisees who have taken their seat on the chair of Moses." But we should understand that Saint Matthew’s gospel was written by the Church, and it addressed new problems, not those that Jesus had faced fifty years ago. Many leading Jews had entered the Church but they had not changed their expectations of privilege and entitlement. The more things changed with their conversion to Christ, the more they stayed the same. 

The Gospel insists, 

The greatest among you must be your servant.

Whoever exalts himself will be humbled;

but whoever humbles himself will be exalted."

Servant leadership is not foreign to Americans. Don't our politicians say they want to serve the people? Don't they accuse one another of being self-serving? Likewise, merchants, banks, and sales people tell us they serve the public. But we always suspect, and sometimes we know, they're serving themselves first. They may want to do good, but they're also doing very well. 

Jesus did good; he didn't do well. His life ended in crucifixion. 

In today’s second reading we heard Saint Paul remind the Thessalonians about his servant leadership: 

We were gentle among you, as a nursing mother cares for her children…. We shared with you not only the gospel of God, but our very selves, so dear were you to us.

We worked night and day in order not to burden any of you, as we proclaimed the gospel of God to you.

His life didn't end well either; he was decapitated in Rome. But he was sure that, 

...in receiving the word of God from us,

you received not a human word but, as it truly is, the word of God.

When people welcomed and worked with Saint Paul, they did it for God, and not for the apostle. They loved the man, but they served the Lord. They were loyal to the missionary, but they belonged to the Church. They were like my friend Bernard, who might have been quoting Joshua, 

"As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

If we cannot demand servant leadership from the Church, we can expect it; even as we expect it of ourselves. As a priest and sometime pastor, I know that the Church relies on faithful people who believe in God in any case, whether they're well served or badly. 

Some time later Bernard spoke to me privately about the assistant; and when I had proof of the problem I fixed it. The arrogant servant was brought low, and the humble were exalted.